At dawn the next morning, Ryan unconsciously tightened his fingers in his sleep, feeling the soft warmth in his palm. He instinctively squeezed twice.

  Soft, smooth and delicate. The pleasant sensation made him pinch it several more times.

  What is this?

  Ryan had yet to open his eyes, but his mind stirred first. He subconsciously touched it again. The warm, fine texture at his fingertips was becoming more distinct. It did not feel like a blanket.

  After kneading it dozens of times, Ryan's consciousness snapped awake. His hand had slipped into Evelyn's sleeve.

  An arm? No wonder it felt so smooth and tender. It was her exposed skin beneath the sleeve.

  Ryan's heartbeat surged. He had somehow ended up hugging Evelyn again. And this time it was far worse. His hand had gone straight into her sleeve.

  Why was this happening? Even in his sleep, he usually sensed danger instantly. Anyone approaching would wake him immediately.

  But when holding Evelyn, he slept deeply.

  Was her scent carrying some kind of hypnotic magic? Or had his subconscious long treated this woman as an absolutely safe haven?

  Ryan dared not continue this line of thought. What panicked him even more was that Evelyn was now a Second tier Journeyman Mage, fully capable of staying awake for dozens of days and nights.

  He was openly hugging her and touching her arm like this. There was no way she had not noticed.

  Then why did she not resist?

  Under the blanket, Evelyn felt the repeated kneading on her arm. She slowly opened her eyes, a hint of helplessness inside them, along with a trace of indulgence she herself had yet to realize.

  She looked at Ryan, who still had his eyes tightly shut, curled under the covers like a child who had misbehaved without knowing it.

  Truthfully, she barely slept at all that night. Ryan had kneaded her arm countless times, sometimes lightly, sometimes firmly.

  If she were an ordinary mortal, her arm would probably be bruised by now.

  Evelyn thought silently, yet she held no anger. Perhaps she had grown used to the sensation, or perhaps Ryan's defenseless sleeping face made her unable to scold him.

  What now?

  Ryan's heart pounded as his mind raced. He wished he could post a plea for help: What should I do?

  Wait. Why did she not resist?

  Right. If she did not resist, didn't that mean she accepted it?

  Ryan's panic gradually faded, replaced by a subtle excitement. Maybe Evelyn truly saw him differently.

  She stared at him. His brows twitched slightly, the corner of his lips faintly lifted. She began to suspect he was actually awake.

  Ryan slowly pressed his hand against her arm as he drew it out from her sleeve. His fingertips slid across her skin, the smoothness and warmth making him sigh inwardly.

  The deliberate slowness made Evelyn's body tense, yet she still did not stop him.

  Once he withdrew his hand, Ryan immediately flipped over, dragging the blanket along with him and wrapping himself in it, turning his back toward Evelyn.

  He continued sleeping deeply as if everything earlier had been unconscious. He was certain Evelyn would not expose his act.

  Seeing this, Evelyn quickly rolled out of bed, stepping back twice in instinct as though afraid he would suddenly pounce and hug her again.

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  She raised her hand, faint magic gathering at her fingertip. The Ice Shard spell was already charged. A simple flick would let this liar experience what it felt like to be stabbed awake by ice.

  But as she looked at his sleeping face, even wrapped in blankets, still resting peacefully, that clean, gentle profile softened her.

  The magic at her fingertip slowly dissipated.

  Forget it.

  Evelyn sighed inwardly. It was not entirely his fault. He truly may not know what he did in his sleep. The ignorant are blameless.

  She suppressed the strange flutter in her chest. Her gaze fell on Ryan's blanket wrapped back, her eyes showing a complex mix of emotions.

  There was helplessness, tolerance and a trace of dependence she herself had not noticed.

  His presence was like a warm light, chasing away the cold and loneliness she had lived with for years.

  Would you be willing to become my family?

  This thought flashed through Evelyn's mind like lightning, and a faint image followed before fading away.

  At that moment, her heartbeat seemed to falter. Evelyn's heart skipped, realizing that perhaps she had truly come to regard Ryan as family.

  The feeling was strange and unsettling. Yet toward Ryan, she had developed this inexplicable, hard-to-describe emotion.

  Meanwhile, Ryan, still pretending to sleep with his eyes closed, silently muttered in his mind: God, please don't hit me, please don't hit me!

  From the moment Evelyn had gotten out of bed until now, he had waited a full hour before slowly allowing himself to relax.

  He first opened his eyes just a sliver, only to find Evelyn seemingly outside his direct line of sight, not daring to move. He figured he might as well fully open his eyes.

  If she caught him sneaking a peek, wouldn't he be instantly exposed?

  The moment he opened his eyes, Ryan froze. He had no idea when Evelyn had returned to the bed, lying there with her eyes closed, breathing steadily, as if nothing had just happened.

  He instinctively reached for the blanket on top of him. This was definitely not a hallucination. In other words, he really had been holding her and she had not resisted!

  Ryan quickly pulled off the blanket binding him and sat up, deliberately putting on a confused expression, scratching his head: Why did the blanket end up covering me entirely? Wasn't it supposed to stay in the middle before?

  His tone was full of feigned confusion, acting as if he knew nothing at all. His acting was flawless.

  Hearing his voice, Evelyn slowly opened her eyes and sat up.

  She looked at Ryan and said,"Yeah, why did the blanket move over to you? Did it grow legs?"

  Ryan was momentarily stunned. She was mocking him!

  This cold, proud woman who never even joked was mocking him!

  Though her tone was as calm as ever, the rhetorical question clearly exposed his act of feigned ignorance.

  Ryan was momentarily speechless and could only answer awkwardly,"Maybe… the wind blew it over in the night?"

  He laughed to himself, trying to cover up his embarrassment, but when he met Evelyn's icy, clear gaze, his laughter instantly died away. He had no choice but to suppress his expression.

  Ryan's heart raced. Given Evelyn's personality, she should have immediately called out his lie, or even used her Ice Shard spell to give him a taste of punishment.

  Yet to his surprise, Evelyn truly acted as if she knew nothing. She asked no further questions and did not expose him.

  She only gave him a faint glance, then turned to sit at the edge of the bed, gently picking up the shoes resting there and slipping them on.

  Ryan sat on the edge of the bed, the air still carrying Evelyn's lingering scent.

  He looked at her and said,"Let's go. It's time to head back to Sword Mage Academy."

  His gaze stayed locked on Evelyn's face, trying to catch the slightest ripple in her icy, composed expression.

  Was it indulgence? Resignation? Or truly complete indifference?

  Unfortunately, Evelyn only responded in her usual calm tone, her eyes still and serene.

  Could it really be a hallucination? No! Absolutely impossible!

  Ryan instinctively grabbed his clothing and sniffed it. The fabric unmistakably carried Evelyn's unique scent.

  Evelyn watched his inexplicable behavior, her brows knitting slightly in puzzlement. What on earth was he doing now?

  Ryan met her gaze and immediately feigned sudden realization, pointing at the blanket on the bed:

  "Why does it smell so nice all of a sudden? That's strange! Could this blanket be enchanted? It actually retains the scent so well!"

  He even gave the blanket a thumbs-up, his face full of exaggerated amazement:

  "Compared to the bedding at Sword Mage Academy, this is just ordinary linen. The palace bedding really is something else!"

  "Let's go." Evelyn quietly watched him perform, neither exposing him nor asking questions. She merely spoke softly.

  Ryan quickly nodded and got up, intending to open the door.

  "Come here for a moment." Evelyn suddenly called him in a cold tone.

  Ryan's eyes were full of confusion, but he obediently walked over."What is it?"

  Evelyn pulled out a binding rope! Calm and composed, she skillfully tied his wrists again right before his eyes.

  Ryan felt a jolt in his heart. Didn't she say she wouldn't tie him up? Why the sudden change of mind?

  Something felt off. This wasn't like her. Did she hold a grudge over what happened earlier? Or was she afraid he might run off?

  Evelyn tied the other end of the binding rope to her own wrist, like a magical thread connecting the two of them.

  "Let's go," she said softly, pulling Ryan toward the door.

  They had only taken a few steps outside when they ran into two familiar figures: Derrick and Darlene.

  The two were walking side by side, clearly looking for them.

  "Look! They're still so close!" Derrick whispered to Darlene, his tone full of admiration.

  Darlene followed his gaze and saw Evelyn holding the binding rope with Ryan at her side.

  She couldn't help but sigh:"Yeah~ keeping them so tightly together… so sweet!"

  Hearing their whispers, Ryan didn't feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he walked up to them with a smile and raised an eyebrow:"Jealous?"